Start the Week with a Colerne Wildflowers No 66. Sticky Mouse-ear Chickweed, Cerastium Glomeratum. Pink Family

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I look out for this little plant each year as it reappears on the side of Chapel Path. I love seeing how our urban plants somehow find a niche in our inhospitable built environment. This year it has found an easier place to thrive, a patch appearing on Watergates Common near the bench. 


Unlike other chickweeds, the flowers are held in a close bunch. (Glomeratum comes from the Latin word for "balled together”)


The common name refers to the soft hairy mouse-ear like leaves. Many of the hairs are glandular giving it a slightly sticky feel. The hairs may also act to augment vibration signals from a chewing insect, triggering the preparation of chemical defences. Aren’t plants clever!


According to wikipedia: “the leaves and shoots were used as a wild food in ancient China. In Nepal, the juice was applied to the forehead to relieve headaches. It was dropped into the nostrils to treat nosebleeds”.


The larvae of several moths use it as a food plant, including the small yellow underwing.